Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as “antifa” had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” according to interviews and confidential law enforcement documents obtained by POLITICO.

Previously unreported documents disclose that by April 2016, authorities believed that “anarchist extremists” were the primary instigators of violence at public rallies against a range of targets. They were blamed by authorities for attacks on the police, government and political institutions, along with symbols of “the capitalist system,” racism, social injustice and fascism, according to a confidential 2016 joint intelligence assessment by DHS and the FBI.

I recently learned that Johnny B’s Rockin’ Diner in Medford is scheduled to have The Mentors play on Thursday, September 7 (although they will have hopefully cancelled this show by the time you read this). The Mentors are a long-running shock band who have used the disgusting title of “Rape Rock” to describe their music. The flyer for their current tour has three masked executioners (and a little too similar looking to KKK boneheads) with guitars on their back and a gun to the head of a naked woman bent over in front of them. Their tour is titled the “Anti-Antifa Tour.” For those unfamiliar with Antifa, it is an anti-racist and anti-fascist group fighting against the rising repulsive neo-Nazi white supremacist movement and any simple double-negative understanding of “anti-anti-fascist” would clearly make The Mentors pro-fascist, or that is at least the implication they seem to want to portray. This doesn’t even begin to reveal The Mentors questionable history, offensive body of work, and messed-up agenda….which we are continually assured by their apologists to be all just a decades-running big joke. Having a bit of trouble laughing? Me too, and I got a pretty twisted sense of humor. Well, the other night I found myself in Medford, so I stopped by Johnny B’s to get their story on the situation, since there was nothing posted on Johnny B’s website about the show and news of the band coming seemed uncertain, mostly decimated word-of-mouth, through specific social media, and on the band’s website….only Mentors fans and their critics seemed to be in the know. I walked in to find an empty bar with four men sitting at a booth, one I recognized as Johnny, another a respected local musician (who was mostly quiet and later sincerely apologized and denounced The Mentors), another I have seen doing the door there (who only briefly chimed in to support Johnny with a grunt or two), and one I have never seen before (I’ll call him “dude”). I went up to the group and asked if there was music tonight. They said the bar was open and they would be practicing for an upcoming show opening for George Thorogood at the Britt. I politely asked Johnny if it was true that The Mentors were playing there next month. At that point, Johnny and dude got extremely hostile with me. I tried to assure them that I was their friend and supported this place, but was concerned that the upcoming event might be a disaster for a venue that I greatly appreciated and that now, more then ever, we might not need The Mentors adding their particularly provoking fuel to the highly flammable tinderbox of our valley. I was told that I didn’t understand The Mentors. Which I agreed. I was also accused of being part of Antifa, which I assured them I was not, and that while I do greatly appreciate Antifa’s steadfast attempts to expose and confront white supremacists and neo-Nazis, I thought their general politics were limited and sometimes bordered on there own flavor of authoritarianism (another story)…..Anyway, over the next fifteen minutes, I dealt with a barrage of assumptions, insults, and verbal assaults by Johnny and dude, all for wanting to know the story and suggesting that maybe they reconsider hosting the show for the sake of the venue and the hostilities that it might spark in our community. I made it clear to Johnny that I am for freedom and that I do not want cops or laws involved with our lives, but instead seek unmediated authentic relationships based on real dynamics, instead of rhetoric and politics. I also made it absolutely clear that I am not PC, I am skeptical of the progressive agenda (again, we’ll talk about that later), I am not into censorship, and I am no friend of Tipper Gore, but, that I did find the band pretty messed-up and gross and that they were sure to bring out the local neo-Nazi scum, as well as inciting an anti-fascist response, and therefore, probably a dangerous disaster in the making. I tried over and over to express these points, yet all I got was hostility and their misrepresentation of me, lumping everyone into the same category (“Leftist sheep”), dismissing any concerns, and “dude” repeating soundbites he no doubt learned from years of listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show. Johnny dramatically fluctuated between mockingly apologizing and open hostility, complaining that nobody came to his venue anyway, that “this valley and town sucks, and fuck them all”. He assured me that he is working with the cops to protect his venue, to allow the band to play, and to bust the Antifa people, and that he and the venue “are gonna go out in a bang”. He absurdly suggested that if I really cared about this venue, I’d be there to defend it the night of the show. Well Johnny, you made this mess, it’ll be yours to clean up, I just hope its just a mess, and nothing worse. Realizing that their minds were already made up about the show, the band, and anyone who would have a problem with it, along with their ignorant need to put me in a box, I found myself getting more and more angry, until I finally left before things escalated. It is absolutely clear to me that Johnny B’s is no longer a venue which should be supported by our community, and that Johnny is on a kamikaze mission to go down in flames. OK, fine. Hope he can handle the heat that he’s bringing on himself. I am contacting any bands I know (local and touring) that might consider playing Johnny B’s to explain the situation. Again, I am not uptight, easily offended, or into censorship (but, I also don’t accept convoluted ideas like “free speech”, because that concept and laws surrounding it are granted by an authority I reject, known as government…I believe people should say and do as they please and deal with the consequences which arise, including community backlash). And, even if people are wrong about The Mentors (which I seriously doubt), it is obvious to me that Johnny B’s, at this point, is a safe space for scumbags (neo-Nazi’s, white supremacists, misogynists, etc.) and that controversy and desperation are major motivations for Johnny. Do your own research, make up your own mind about The Mentors, but this is more than just one band with some messed-up songs (there’s plenty of those), it is the larger context that is concerning here, one Johnny seems fine exploiting. If you feel motivated by this, let Johnny B’s know what you think of The Mentors and their support of this atrocious band and the scumbags it will bring out of the woodwork and create a safe space for.

the first TAMMY i knew was a cute little slut, she tried to fuck me in the middle of the street when we were 11! at least she was cute, but she was already fucking adult guys by that point so i ran, the next TAMMY i knew was in high school, not as cute or slutty but she did rock the too short skirts while being significantly overweight, everyone saw her panties on the regular, some had lost the fight and were in the last stages of being devoured by her pussy, the horror, but now i have met the worst TAMMY of all, the most one dimensional, not entertaining in any way, self defecating TAMMY, and there are many of her, all wide mouth laughing and flinging shit randomly, mostly hitting each other, desperately seeking attention for their shit flinging but becoming less relevant every moment, diving headfirst into the trashbin of history

If there was ever a person unafraid to speak truth to power, it would be Jello Biafra, former singer of the Dead Kennedys and the man responsible for their 1981 call-to-arms Nazi Punks Fuck Off. So it might come as a surprise that he is withering in his criticism of Antifa’s actions in recent months.

“I’m not down with confronting [the extreme right’s] provocations of violence with actual violence. I mean, self-defence is one thing, but going to a Trumpist rally with the express purpose of beating up fascists – what does that accomplish? Who’s the fascist now? It plays right into their hands,” he says.